Pierce Brosnan: 'I just wish I was as cool' as James Bond

Bond, not James Bond. Pierce Brosnantold DuJour magazine in its August 2014 issue that he's different from his most famous onscreen character, James Bond. Unlike the suave, butt-kicking undercover agent, Brosnan, by his own assessment, is a wimp.

"I just wish I was as cool as they are," Brosnan reflected of his action-movie characters. "If I got into a fight in a bar, I'd miss the dude by miles." He jokingly added: "I wouldn't know how to connect. It would be a comedy."

The hunky actor, 61, channeled Bond while posing for DuJour photographer Eric Ray Davidson on a gorgeous beach. The "Thomas Crown Affair" star smolders in the accompanying spread in a rumpled black tuxedo and bowtie, while standing barefoot in some tropical locale.

"That role is a gift that keeps giving in many respects," Brosnan told DuJour of his history as Bond. "I resist any negative feelings or tension as it's such an iconic role. I think there’s space for people who enjoyed my work as Bond to enjoy this film and see the guy I once was play the guy I am now."

The seasoned actor tackles yet another spy role in his upcoming movie, "The November Man," where he plays a retired CIA agent who's asked to execute one final operation.

"I thought it had complexity and it was a good fit for me as a character to play, having been away from the spy game for some time," Brosnan said of the flick. "All the ingredients were well balanced—the writing, the characterization and the story."

Brosnan was filming "The November Man" when his 41-year-old adopted daughter Charlotte succumbed to ovarian cancer in July 2013. (His first wife, actress Cassandra Harris, died in 1991 from the same disease.) A source close to the actor told Us Weekly at the time, "Pierce is beside himself, having to deal with this kind of loss again."

While the loss deeply affected the Irish actor and his family, Brosnan's "The November Man" director Roger Donaldson told DuJour that the actor pulled through rather impressively.

"It was a very tough time," Donaldson recalled. "He was taking the movie very seriously but he was also deeply affected by what was going on in his life. I was very impressed by how he was able to give his family the time he needed to but to give the film time as well. I’m sure it was very challenging for him, but for me the quality of his work never wavered."